Wormwood by moe.

Having established itself in the mid-'90s as one of the most talented of an ever-expanding crop of jambands, moe. is navigating middle age just fine. 

The band grooves with its neo-hippie fare on Wormwood, a healthy 14-track effort released on iMUSIC/ARTISTdirect. 

Bass player extraordinaire Rob Derhak propels the group through a guitar-laced sound that combines grit and sweetness and fuses bright melodies with a rhythm-driven edge. 

The quintet's Southern rock-tinged jams are present, as are ska beats, a nod to Led Zeppelin, and even some swirling ambient explorations. 

The CD opens with "Not Coming Down," a high-energy track that starts with drummer Vinnie Amico knocking out the beat on the snare and high hat (enhanced by pre-recorded crowd noise), and then followed by Durhak vavooming into an undulating bass line that cues the rest of the players to surge forward into the verses and jams. 

"Not Coming Down," typifies the classic moe. sound that helped define the band on past albums such as 1996's well-acclaimed No Doy (Sony) and 2001's Dither (Fatboy Records). 

Track 3, "Okayalright," a rocking ode to a past love, includes intriguing lyrics (though definitely not of the cutesy and overwrought Phish variety): "Back in the summer of '88/I didn't know how to rock and roll/Saw your face as you drove away/How could I know what you'd do to my soul?/Goodbye Susie goodbye." 

Sometimes reminiscent of Cameron Crowe's fictional band Stillwater in Almost Famous and sometimes conjuring real-life rockers, moe. cranks out neo-stoner rock that might make you stop and say "Ahhh." 

visit www.moe.org